Jahressteuergesetz 2026: Was sich für Unternehmer ändert

On August 12, 2026, the federal cabinet (Bundeskabinett) adopted the government bill for the Annual Tax Act 2026 (Jahressteuergesetz 2026, JStG 2026). For you as a self-employed person or managing director, two points matter above all: from 2027, tax assessments (Steuerbescheide) will as a rule be delivered electronically to your ELSTER account, and the interest on back taxes will double to 3.6 percent per year. We have sorted out the changes that are genuinely relevant for small and medium-sized businesses – and tell you what you should conclude from them now.

What is the Annual Tax Act 2026?

An annual tax act is not a major reform with one clear theme, but an omnibus act. It bundles many individual adjustments that have accumulated over the course of a year: responses to rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof), necessary alignments with EU law, clarifications on procedural questions and responsibilities. Practically all the central tax statutes are affected – from the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz) through the VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz) to the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung).

The Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesfinanzministerium) names three objectives as the guiding principles of the JStG 2026: cutting red tape, promoting digitalization, and preventing unlawful tax structuring.

Important regarding the stage of the procedure: what was adopted on August 12, 2026 is the government bill. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to deliberate on the act and pass it. Changes during the parliamentary process are therefore possible, and with annual tax acts they are also customary. The direction, however, is set, and the two big points affect every entrepreneur.

Tax assessments go digital from 2027: the change to § 122a AO

The rule so far: anyone who wants to receive their assessments electronically has to consent expressly. Without consent, the assessment lands in the letterbox. That is exactly what the bill reverses.

From January 1, 2027, taxpayers are to receive certain assessments and letters electronically as a matter of principle – for example income tax assessments or the decision on an objection. Under the amended version of § 122a of the Fiscal Code, only one thing is decisive: do you have an active ELSTER user account? If so, notification takes place electronically. Express consent is no longer required.

The process looks like this:

• The tax office (Finanzamt) makes the assessment available for retrieval in your ELSTER user account.
• You are informed about it by email on the day it is made available.
• You retrieve the assessment in your user account – as a PDF document.

Anyone who does not have an active ELSTER user account will continue to receive the assessment by post. And anyone who has an active account but still wants paper will in future have to apply actively for notification by post – electronically, via the existing user account.

The point you should remember: the deadlines run regardless

The real risk lies not in the technology but in the deemed-notification rule (Bekanntgabefiktion). Under § 122a AO, an assessment made available for data retrieval is deemed to have been notified on the fourth day after it was made available. From that day, the one-month objection period (Einspruchsfrist) under § 355 AO starts to run – regardless of whether you actually opened the assessment.

Tip: Check which email address is stored in your ELSTER account, and whether the notifications actually arrive there and get read. A notification email left to rot in the spam folder of a barely used mailbox will, in the worst case, cost you the objection period.

Interest on back taxes rises to 3.6 percent per year

The second major change affects everyone who has to pay back taxes – and among the self-employed with fluctuating profits, that is quite a lot of people.

The Fiscal Code provides for interest on back taxes and tax refunds. It only kicks in after a grace period of 15 months (Karenzzeit) following the end of the tax year (§ 233a AO). In 2022, the interest rate was set retroactively for interest periods from January 1, 2019 at 0.15 percent per full month, i.e. 1.8 percent per year.

The Fiscal Code requires this interest rate to be reviewed regularly. That is exactly what has happened. Because the base rate under the German Civil Code (BGB) and lending rates have risen significantly, the bill provides for raising the interest rate from the year 2027 to 0.3 percent per full month – i.e. 3.6 percent per year. That is a doubling.

Example: What the doubling actually costs

Marco runs an advertising agency. For 2025 he had a very good result, but his advance payments (Vorauszahlungen) were still at the previous year's level. The tax assessment arrives late, leaving back taxes of 20,000 euros. The grace period ends on March 31, 2027, after which interest starts to accrue. After twelve months of interest, that would have been 360 euros in interest at the old rate. At 3.6 percent it is 720 euros. And this interest on back income tax is something Marco cannot deduct as a business expense (§ 12 no. 3 EStG) – so it hits him with the full amount.

The good news: the interest rate applies symmetrically. Anyone receiving a refund will in future also get 3.6 percent. Refund interest, however, is taxable investment income (§ 20 para. 1 no. 7 EStG), so you give part of it back again.

Tip: The most effective countermeasure is not tax structuring but bookkeeping that is kept up to date on an ongoing basis. If you know each month where your profit stands, you can have your advance payments adjusted in good time – and avoid the back taxes and interest in the first place.

The VAT group becomes a genuine election

If you hold several companies, this point is relevant. Until now, a VAT group (umsatzsteuerliche Organschaft) arises automatically as soon as the statutory criteria for integration are met. There is no right to elect – which in practice regularly leads to disputes over whether a VAT group exists or not.

The bill creates a new, standalone provision for this: in future, the legal consequences of a VAT group will arise only upon an express declaration by the controlling entity (Organträger). Both the establishment of the VAT group and the inclusion of individual controlled companies (Organgesellschaften) are to be possible at short notice and with effect for the future. The goal: legal certainty, legal clarity, and the ability to react promptly to changes in the corporate structure.

Research allowance: up to 25 million euros per project

European state aid law permits research and development aid of a maximum of 25 million euros per company and project, across periods. Until now, the German Research Allowance Act (Forschungszulagengesetz) did not make full use of this scope. The JStG 2026 raises the limit accordingly.

More important in practice for smaller applicants is a second point: the bill introduces a dedicated suspension of the limitation period (Ablaufhemmung) for the research allowance (Forschungszulage). Until now it could happen that the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) expired before the certification procedure was completed – the allowance was then effectively lost. This gap is being closed.

Further points at a glance

Provision	What changes
Royalty payments abroad	The exemption threshold up to which tax withholding can be waived rises from 10,000 to 100,000 euros. The obligation to file a tax return for the withholding remains in place.
Capital gains tax­relief (Kapitalertragsteuer­entlastung)	Major shareholders with limited tax liability and holdings of 10 percent or more will no longer receive exemption certificates (Freistellungsbescheinigungen) in advance, but instead file a refund application after the transaction.
Online platforms	The reporting obligation under the Platform Tax Transparency Act (Plattformen-Steuertransparenzgesetz) is extended to providers resident in third countries.
Minimum Tax Act	The internationally agreed "side-by-side approach" is implemented in the German Minimum Tax Act (Mindeststeuergesetz).

The last three points mainly concern larger and internationally active companies. The extension of the platform reporting obligations is, however, a good example of a trend that is also reaching small businesses: the tax authorities are getting more and more data ever faster – and independently of what is in your tax return.

What you should do now, concretely

1. Check your ELSTER account. Is the stored email address up to date? Is the mailbox read regularly? If you haven't used the access since registering, you should look for the certificate file and the password now – not only once an assessment has arrived.
2. Keep advance payments realistic. At 3.6 percent interest on back taxes, unintentionally pushing tax payments ahead of you has become more expensive. An interim closing in the autumn shows you whether adjusting the advance payments makes sense.
3. Document deadlines. When assessments arrive digitally, there is no longer a postmark or an envelope in the file. Note the date it was made available and the date you retrieved it, so that in a dispute about when the deadline started you can prove what happened when.
4. With several companies: reassess the VAT group. If an automatic outcome turns into an election, it is worth asking whether the VAT group is advantageous for your structure at all.

We keep an eye on the changes for you

Reading an annual tax act is no fun, and very few entrepreneurs have time for it. That is exactly why Buchführungsheld exists: real bookkeepers keep your books on an ongoing basis, keep an eye on deadlines and changes, and get in touch when something becomes relevant for you – at a fixed price, without timesheets. You upload your receipts, we handle the rest. If you want to know what that looks like for your business, book a free preliminary consultation.

Frequently asked questions

From when will tax assessments arrive electronically?

Under the draft Annual Tax Act 2026, certain assessments and letters are to be notified electronically as a matter of principle from January 1, 2027, if you have an active ELSTER user account. Express consent will then no longer be necessary. Without an active user account, the paper assessment remains.

How high is the interest on back taxes from 2027?

The bill provides for 0.3 percent per full month, i.e. 3.6 percent per year. Until now it was 0.15 percent per month, or 1.8 percent per year. The rate applies equally to interest on back taxes and to refund interest, and only kicks in after the grace period of 15 months under § 233a AO.

Can I still receive assessments by post?

Yes, but you have to apply for it actively. Anyone who has an active ELSTER user account and does not want electronic delivery must apply for notification by post electronically via the user account. Without an active user account, the assessment continues to arrive by post anyway.

Has the Annual Tax Act 2026 already been passed?

No. The federal cabinet adopted the government bill on August 12, 2026. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to deliberate on the act and pass it. Until the procedure is concluded, changes to individual provisions are possible.